Populism In Alberta

When it comes to the Liberals and Progressive-Conservatives having nearly identical policies by the mid-1980s I cannot help but wonder whether the Liberals enacted these policies based on their own changing ideology or whether it was to try undercut the Progressive-Conservatives' growing popularity. Regardless, it seems apparent that by the early-1980s that the Liberal's government-driven, top-down, style Canadian

In Canadian government it best to have legislators who do not vote their own interests and they vote the interests of their constituents. If legislators vote in their own interests they could be going against their own parties or the constituents that voted them in. Even if they know a lot about the subject they should still keep their interests out of their decisions and keep the interests of their constituents. Legislators that vote their own interests might even be going against the party policies, which could get them kicked out of the party or disciplined. Legislators are there to represent the people of their riding, not to vote their own interests in.

Harper used the weak liberal leaders to ensure he stayed in power and he was able to ensure that a coalition did not happen between the Liberals, New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois. He remained strong when the possibility of his government being replaced by a coalition almost happened, he was successful by saying that the deal the liberals made was “‘a betrayal of the voters of this country… a betrayal of the best interests of our economy… a betrayal of the best interests of our country. And we will fight it with every means that we have’” (223). Harper kept his opponents divided and he showed Canadians that he was not going anywhere. Finally, he showed leadership after winning a majority by promising “‘major reforms’ in ‘a whole range of areas’ to ‘secure the sustainability of our key programs… for a generation to come’” (364). This showed that he was just getting started. Stephen Harper’s leadership style was to remain a strong leader while making as few headlines as possible. Harper did not like making headlines, “This helps explain why he has lasted. He lies low because he wants to last” (291). Harper was an effective leader because he knew how to keep a low profile which limited the amount of bad

The issue of electoral reform has become more important than ever in Canada in recent years as the general public has come to realize that our current first-past-the-post, winner-take-all system, formally known as single-member plurality (SMP) has produced majority governments of questionable legitimacy. Of the major democracies in the world, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom are the only countries that still have SMP systems in place. Interestingly enough, there has been enormous political tension and division in the last few years in these countries, culminating with the election results in Canada and the USA this year that polarized both countries. In the last year we have seen

In recent elections, the separatist parties in Quebec have seen crushing defeats, raising questions about their relevance in modern day Canada. Support for Quebec separatism has diminished in the past several decades, with the rise of the NDP in the 2011 federal election and the more recent provincial Liberal victory in April of 2014. In the 2011 federal election, specifically, the Bloc Quebecois was reduced to only four seats in the House of Commons, while the NDP took the majority of Quebec’s seats. The provincial Parti Quebecois (PQ) has also been faltering, losing more often than not to the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ). Indeed, over the past decade, the PLQ has only lost one election, and has held majorities in many. The most recent election put them back into power after a short PQ minority government that began in 2012. These recent elections may point to a future in which the separatist movement in Quebec may be silenced. Since the late 1950s, the question of Quebec separatism has existed, with levels of support varying throughout the following decades, leading up the referendums of 1980 and 1995. The defeats suffered by the separatist parties in recent elections demonstrate that the separatist movement may be close to being over in Quebec.

The Canadian Prime Minister presents the illusion that this so-called democratic Canada is run by the will of the people and attempts to maintain this image, yet the truth is that the power stays

Prior to the Quebec Referendums, many national movements in regards to national movement which drove nationalism of French ethnicity. In order to understand what the Quebec Referendums reveal about Canadian government reveals, the context the Quebec Referendum was set needs to be understood as well as the existing strained relationship between Canadians and Quebecois. Prior to the referendums, Quebec nationalists and federalists have been dominant figures in Canadian politics. In essence, this paper explores 1) the context prior to the referendum in order to illustrate the significance of the Quebec referendum, 2) briefly discuss the referendum results and 3) tie in the following in order to exemplify what the Quebec Referendums reveal about Canadian Government. As this paper will illustrate, the referendums are multi-faceted issues and as Boucher brings up, what happen to the true Canadianism, "compromising to avoid confrontation and reaching consensus"? Unfortunately for Quebecois, in order to protect their distinct identity, they have been depicted as an insensitive tyrant by dealing with direct confrontation. On a superficial level, the Quebec Referendums reveal the Canadian government is divided amongst two distinct cultures of Quebecois and Inuit who make up a

The first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system used in Canada poses several constraints on political parties, benefitting some and hindering others. Under the FPTP system a winning candidate simply requires one more vote than the next candidate to win the seat, thus emphasizing the importance of regionally concentrated constituent bases (Dickerson & Flanagan, 2009). This structural constraint is inherent to the FPTP electoral system and benefits the Conservative party, who have several regions of concentrated support across Canada. Alberta

It has now been over two, and a half years since us citizens have decided to nominate Justin Pierre James Trudeau as the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada. Justin Trudeau may be an appealing Prime Minister to many, but many Canadians are failing to understand that he is forbidding Canada to propel forward and to meet its true potential in many facets. Not many actions Justin Trudeau raised have affected Canada vastly in the past two years, at least not for the good. Trudeau has also been operating in contrast to his pledges such as the tax promises. ( Financial Post, 27 Sept. 2017.) Ever since November 2015 (when Trudeau was elected), citizens (especially middle class) had high hopes, and were lead to dismay, and over the course of time, began

The document alleges that the “Liberal victory clearly demonstrates that what we call democracy in Quebec has always been, and still is, a “democracy” of the rich”. Many Francophones viewed the victory of the Liberal party as the workings of an entrenched elite, which isolated the majority French speaking population. The manifestos reference to the most recent election, only a year prior to the events of the ‘October Crisis’ provide insights into the broader populations feeling at this time. Disenfranchised, exploited, and a feeling that federal government is skewing the political reality of the

A number of issues plague the current state of Canadian democracy, such as poor voter turnout, the increasing polarization of politics, and even numerous scandals regarding the Senate. Yet, arguably the most important issue in relation to the Canadian electoral process is the debate over whether or not the state should implement electoral reform for federal elections, more specifically replacing the Single Member Plurality system (SMP) with the Mixed Member Proportional system (MMP). Some analysts, like Christopher Kam, defend the SMP system and claim that a number of the issues that are used as the basis for the support of MMP are actually the result of larger forces than simply the electoral format. And, that holding politicians

In source II it shows an image for both sides of Soviet and Canadian elections. In the Soviet side it shows a message state, “why vote when we know who will win”? Meaning that in Russia known at that time Soviet Union, as they are only a communist nation they can only vote for one thing. If not they would get executed or imprisoned for not having the same beliefs in Soviet Russia. As a communist powerhouse country they design their beliefs through education and the youth, they try to influence on the children to past on the next generations to continue communism. In Canada, every time there's an election many Canadian citizens get to vote for a party which they believe should be able to control the country in good hands. The major parties known

The recent 2015 federal election saw a dramatic change in the Canadian political landscape. The Conservative party, the governing party of Canada for the past decade, was thoroughly defeated with the Liberals, who had, in relation to seats, been in third place, gaining a majority and subsequently forming government. The reasons for this defeat are examined in the editorial: Why the Conservatives lost, and how they can win again.

Stephen Harper has continually disgraced Canada and its citizens throughout his almost 10 year reign as Prime Minister. There are many problems that have risen throughout Harper’s governing; the widening of the wealth gap, the lack of women’s rights and aboriginal rights are just a few. With an election around the corner, it’s time for change.

The thesis put forth by Darrel Bricker and John Ibbitson in “The Big Shift: The Seismic Change in Canadian Politics, Business, and Culture and What It Means for Our Future”, is premised on the notion that the Laurentian Consensus has ended due to its reluctance to accept the changes that Canada has gone, and will go through. They argue that their resistance to change created an opportunity for the Conservative party to become the new “natural governing” party in Canada (Bricker & Ibbitson, 2013). By recognizing and acting on these changes, the Conservative party built a platform for success which lead to the outcome of the 2011 federal election. They argue that the seismic shift in the demographics of Canadian voters from one side of the political spectrum to the other granted Conservatives this victory. This paper will explore the flaws within their argument, and the extent to which this shift is perpetual in nature.